Emergency Laparotomy in the Critically Ill: Futility at the Bedside

Background. Critically ill patients are often evaluated for an intra-abdominal catastrophe. In the absence of a preoperative diagnosis, abdominal exploration may be offered despite desperate circumstances. We hypothesize that (1) abdominal exploration for such patients is associated with a high mort...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Niels D. Martin, Sagar P. Patel, Kristen Chreiman, Jose L. Pascual, Benjamin Braslow, Patrick M. Reilly, Lewis J. Kaplan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018-01-01
Series:Critical Care Research and Practice
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/6398917
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832553197465501696
author Niels D. Martin
Sagar P. Patel
Kristen Chreiman
Jose L. Pascual
Benjamin Braslow
Patrick M. Reilly
Lewis J. Kaplan
author_facet Niels D. Martin
Sagar P. Patel
Kristen Chreiman
Jose L. Pascual
Benjamin Braslow
Patrick M. Reilly
Lewis J. Kaplan
author_sort Niels D. Martin
collection DOAJ
description Background. Critically ill patients are often evaluated for an intra-abdominal catastrophe. In the absence of a preoperative diagnosis, abdominal exploration may be offered despite desperate circumstances. We hypothesize that (1) abdominal exploration for such patients is associated with a high mortality and (2) commonly obtained physiologic measures at laparotomy anticipate mortality. Methods. All acute care surgery (ACS) patients undergoing emergency laparotomy at a quaternary referral center during a 3-year period were reviewed. Inclusion was defined by emergency laparotomy in the operating room (OR) in a patient with an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score ≥4 or bedside laparotomy in the ICU (BSL). Mortality was the primary endpoint and was stratified by demographics, admitting service, surgical findings, and physiology. Comparisons between OR and BSL were by Fisher’s exact and Mann–Whitney tests. Results. 144 patients underwent emergency laparotomy (45 BSL vs. 99 OR). Overall mortality was 55.6% (77.8% BSL vs. 45.5% OR; p<0.001). Mortality by admitting service was cardiac 71.4% (n=42), medical 70% (n=30), ACS 42% (n=50), and other 36.4% (n=22) services. Preoperative lactate levels were higher in nonsurvivors (2.7 vs. 8.5 mmol/L, p<0.001), as was vasopressor use (62.5% vs. 97.5%, p<0.001), acute kidney injury (51.6% vs. 72.5%, p<0.01), leukocytosis (53.1% vs. 71.3%, p<0.04), and anemia (45.3% vs. 71.3%, p<0.01). The presence of any identifiable abdominal pathology established a 90% mortality rate. Conclusions. The need for BSL portends an extremely high mortality rate and is likely useful in preintervention counselling. Emergency OR laparotomy leads to mortality in nearly half of such patients and is anticipatable based on concurrent abnormal physiology.
format Article
id doaj-art-64ca9958d74245c9803bfaab1eae617a
institution Kabale University
issn 2090-1305
2090-1313
language English
publishDate 2018-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Critical Care Research and Practice
spelling doaj-art-64ca9958d74245c9803bfaab1eae617a2025-02-03T05:55:18ZengWileyCritical Care Research and Practice2090-13052090-13132018-01-01201810.1155/2018/63989176398917Emergency Laparotomy in the Critically Ill: Futility at the BedsideNiels D. Martin0Sagar P. Patel1Kristen Chreiman2Jose L. Pascual3Benjamin Braslow4Patrick M. Reilly5Lewis J. Kaplan6Division of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care & Emergency Surgery, Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USADivision of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care & Emergency Surgery, Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USADivision of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care & Emergency Surgery, Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USADivision of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care & Emergency Surgery, Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USADivision of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care & Emergency Surgery, Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USADivision of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care & Emergency Surgery, Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USADivision of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care & Emergency Surgery, Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USABackground. Critically ill patients are often evaluated for an intra-abdominal catastrophe. In the absence of a preoperative diagnosis, abdominal exploration may be offered despite desperate circumstances. We hypothesize that (1) abdominal exploration for such patients is associated with a high mortality and (2) commonly obtained physiologic measures at laparotomy anticipate mortality. Methods. All acute care surgery (ACS) patients undergoing emergency laparotomy at a quaternary referral center during a 3-year period were reviewed. Inclusion was defined by emergency laparotomy in the operating room (OR) in a patient with an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score ≥4 or bedside laparotomy in the ICU (BSL). Mortality was the primary endpoint and was stratified by demographics, admitting service, surgical findings, and physiology. Comparisons between OR and BSL were by Fisher’s exact and Mann–Whitney tests. Results. 144 patients underwent emergency laparotomy (45 BSL vs. 99 OR). Overall mortality was 55.6% (77.8% BSL vs. 45.5% OR; p<0.001). Mortality by admitting service was cardiac 71.4% (n=42), medical 70% (n=30), ACS 42% (n=50), and other 36.4% (n=22) services. Preoperative lactate levels were higher in nonsurvivors (2.7 vs. 8.5 mmol/L, p<0.001), as was vasopressor use (62.5% vs. 97.5%, p<0.001), acute kidney injury (51.6% vs. 72.5%, p<0.01), leukocytosis (53.1% vs. 71.3%, p<0.04), and anemia (45.3% vs. 71.3%, p<0.01). The presence of any identifiable abdominal pathology established a 90% mortality rate. Conclusions. The need for BSL portends an extremely high mortality rate and is likely useful in preintervention counselling. Emergency OR laparotomy leads to mortality in nearly half of such patients and is anticipatable based on concurrent abnormal physiology.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/6398917
spellingShingle Niels D. Martin
Sagar P. Patel
Kristen Chreiman
Jose L. Pascual
Benjamin Braslow
Patrick M. Reilly
Lewis J. Kaplan
Emergency Laparotomy in the Critically Ill: Futility at the Bedside
Critical Care Research and Practice
title Emergency Laparotomy in the Critically Ill: Futility at the Bedside
title_full Emergency Laparotomy in the Critically Ill: Futility at the Bedside
title_fullStr Emergency Laparotomy in the Critically Ill: Futility at the Bedside
title_full_unstemmed Emergency Laparotomy in the Critically Ill: Futility at the Bedside
title_short Emergency Laparotomy in the Critically Ill: Futility at the Bedside
title_sort emergency laparotomy in the critically ill futility at the bedside
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/6398917
work_keys_str_mv AT nielsdmartin emergencylaparotomyinthecriticallyillfutilityatthebedside
AT sagarppatel emergencylaparotomyinthecriticallyillfutilityatthebedside
AT kristenchreiman emergencylaparotomyinthecriticallyillfutilityatthebedside
AT joselpascual emergencylaparotomyinthecriticallyillfutilityatthebedside
AT benjaminbraslow emergencylaparotomyinthecriticallyillfutilityatthebedside
AT patrickmreilly emergencylaparotomyinthecriticallyillfutilityatthebedside
AT lewisjkaplan emergencylaparotomyinthecriticallyillfutilityatthebedside